Since I've just finished my second season of guiding in the Alps, thought I'd post up a wee list of kit that has just kept working (and stuff that hasn't).

Best of the best:
Hayes 9 brakes.
Powerful, easy to work on, great pad life. Mine have goodridge hoses and I run them with original Hayes sintered pads as much as possible. Mine must be 4 years old now (had them before I moved out here) and they actually came from the classifieds on here so may be even older! Damaged them in crashes a couple of times over the 2 years, otherwise zero problems. Both times they were easy to fix myself and parts were cheap.

DT Swiss 5.1 rims.
These seem to get a slagging on here. Mine have been brilliant. I dinged the rear once during my first season due to pilot error. Straightened that out with an adjustable spanner and had no hassles since. Run them tubeless using the DT Swiss rimstrips and UST tyres.

Shimano Hone Cranks
Also coming on for 4 years old and still going strong. Think I replaced the bearings once last year, not at all this year.

Time Z Control pedals
7 years, no maintenance, no play, no problems. Ultimate reliability. (I swapped to flats a year ago though).

EA30 bars, Thomson stem, Thomson posts, Hope QR seat collar
Yup, everything's still where it should be. Every bike should have a Hope QR seatpost clamp!

Great but minor problems or not them long enough to say
Orange Alpine 160 Frame. Love it, and not expecting any problems.

Santa Cruz Heckler (06 model) frame. Loved this frame, but I did eventually snap it in July. Can't complain, it had done a season and a half of top-notch service out here plus a year or so back in the UK.

Hope ProII hubs. Great, not even had to replace the bearings yet, but I did snap a rear axle (replaced super-fast by Hope, awesome service!). Freehub springs have gone too, but that's fair enough. Started with QR both ends, now 20mm front, 12mm rear.

RockShox Lyrik U-turn
Fitted at the start of this season. Been really pleased with them, no hassles at all. Small amount of oil leakage through the Mission Control damper, but not a big deal.

Organic – I'm with you on Burton Kit. I have 2 top end AK jackets – one is 6 years old and still in one nice, stylish yet functional piece having been on umpteen trips and out in endless rain/wind/snow. The other is 16months old and still like brand new.

MTB stuff (prepares to be laughed at):

– Shimano M435 disc hubs have lasted me ages and ages! oh
– and my DX pedals which are now 2 bikes and 7 years old, never serviced, still smooth, amazing (grubs are a bit knackered now though!).

You've got to be joking, they're rubbish. The Salsa flip-lock's the only one I've ever used that works 100% of the time, others can't be done up tight enough and as for the Hope one… it just breaks before you can get it anywhere near tight enough!

you must be incredibly ham-fisted: I've had them on my last three bikes and haven't broken a single one.

Second that, no idea what you're doing to them! Mine has been on 3 different frames and is nearly 10 years old. It's been slip free on every frame/post combination, is smooth as you like and hasn't broken.